Winners 7–10

SEVENTH PRIZE
Rolland Chalmers, Surrey, British Columbia

Concert 1
Leonard Bernstein: Overture to Candide
Erich Korngold: Violin Concerto
Intermission
Ferde Grofé: Grand Canyon Suite

Concert 2
Dag Wirén: Marcia from Serenade for Strings
Ignacy Jan Paderewski: Piano Concerto in a
Intermission
Georges Bizet: Symphony in C

Concert 3
Bedrich Smetana: "The Moldau" from My Country
Antonin Dvorák: Cello Concerto
Intermission
César Franck: Symphony in d

Concert 4
Jean Sibelius: Alla Marcia from Karelia Suite
Edvard Grieg: Piano Concerto
Intermission
Carl Nielsen: Symphony 4, The Inextinguishable

Concert 5
Benjamin Britten: "Dawn" from Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
Benjamin Britten: Violin Concerto
Intermission
Charles Ives: The Unanswered Question
Béla Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta

Concert 6
Jules Massenet: "Meditation" from Thaïs
Pietro Mascagni: Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana
Hector Berlioz: Nuits d'été
Intermission
Edward Elgar: Variations on an Original Theme for orchestra ("Enigma")

Concert 7
Claude Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Aaron Copland: Quiet City
Aaron Copland: Clarinet Concerto
Intermission
Sergei Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf

EIGHTH PRIZE
Jim Eberle, McLean, Virginia

Concert 1
Aram Khachaturian: Violin Concerto
Intermission
Hector Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique

Concert 2
Ottorino Respighi: The Fantastic Toy Shop
Camille Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto 4
Intermission
César Franck: Symphony in d

Concert 3
Benjamin Britten: Four Sea Interludes and Passacaglia from Peter Grimes
William Walton: Cello Concerto
Intermission
John Rutter: Requiem

Concert 4
Sergei Prokofiev: Ode to the End of the War
Alfred Schnittke: Concerto for Piano and Strings
Intermission
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony 11, The Year 1905

Concert 5
Aaron Copland: Fanfare for the Common Man
Samuel Barber: Cello Concerto
William Grant Still: Symphony 1, Afro-American
Intermission
Amy Marcy Cheney Beach: Symphony in e, Gaelic

Concert 6
Edward MacDowell: Piano Concerto 2
George Whitefield Chadwick: Symphonic Sketches
Intermission
Aaron Copland: Symphony 3

Concert 7
Antonin Dvorák: In Nature's Realm
Karol Szymanowski: Violin Concerto 1
Intermission
Antonin Dvorák: Symphony 6

NINTH PRIZE
Bob Epstein, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Concert 1
Hector Berlioz: Rob Roy Overture
Carl Nielsen: Springtime in Funen, for vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra
Intermission
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony 5

Concert 2
Frederick Delius: Brigg Fair
Robert Schumann: Piano Concerto
Intermission
Béla Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta

Concert 3
Gioachino Rossini: Overture to La Scala di Seta
Benjamin Britten: Violin Concerto
Intermission
Antonin Dvorák: Symphony 6

Concert 4
Maurice Ravel: Menuet Antique
Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
Intermission
Anton Bruckner: Symphony 7

Concert 5
John Adams: The Chairman Dances
Richard Strauss: Death and Transfiguration
Intermission
Michael Tippett: Concerto for Double String Orchestra
Jean Sibelius: Karelia Suite

Concert 6
Modest Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain
Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Concerto 2
Intermission
Josef Suk: Serenade for Strings

Concert 7
Michael Tippett: Suite for the Birthday of Prince Charles
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Sancta Civitas
Intermission
Aaron Copland: Symphony 3

TIE FOR TENTH PRIZE
TEN(a)
Richard Wulfeck, Pawtucket, Rhode Island

Concert 1
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Sinfonia in E flat
Alexander Goehr: Violin Concerto
Intermission
Carl Nielsen: Symphony 5

Concert 2
Claude Debussy: Jeux
Benjamin Britten: Les Illuminations, with 3 additional songs orchestrated by Colin Mathews
Intermission
Karol Szymanowski: Symphony 2

Concert 3
Charles Ives: Three Places in New England
Antonin Dvorák: Piano Concerto
Intermission
Elliott Carter: Variations for Orchestra

Concert 4
Jan Dismas Zelenka: Hipocondrie à 7 Concertanti in A
Peter Maxwell Davies: Eight Songs for a Mad King
Intermission
Hector Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique

Concert 5
Arnold Schoenberg: Friede auf Erden (orchestral version)
Robert Schumann: Piano Concerto
Intermission
Alexander Zemlinsky: Symphony 2

Concert 6
Thea Musgrave: Night Music
Matthias Pintscher: Reflections on Narcissus, for cello and orchestra
Intermission
Béla Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin

Concert 7
Michael Tippett: Fantasia Concertante on a Theme of Corelli
Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto in G
Intermission
Roberto Gerhard: Concerto for Orchestra

TEN(b)
Arthur Shapiro, Lake Forest, California

Concert 1
Leonard Bernstein: Overture to Candide
Alan Hovhaness: Prayer of St. Gregory, for trumpet and string orchestra
Johann Hummel: Trumpet Concerto (same soloist as for the Prayer of St. Gregory)
Intermission
Sergei Prokofiev: Symphony 5

Concert 2
Giuseppe Verdi: Overture to La Forza del Destino
Edvard Grieg: Piano Concerto
Intermission
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony 6

Concert 3
Arthur Honegger: Mouvement Symphonique 1, Pacific 231
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto 1
Intermission
Zoltán Kodály: Peacock Variations

Concert 4
Gioachino Rossini: Overture to La Cenerentola
Jean Sibelius: Violin Concerto
Intermission
Paul Hindemith: Mathis der Maler Symphony

Concert 5
Lars-Erik Larsson: Pastoral Suite
Amy Marcy Cheney Beach: Piano Concerto
Intermission
Béla Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra

Concert 6
Elliott Carter: Three Occasions for Orchestra
Carl Maria von Weber: Clarinet Concerto 2
Intermission
Edward Elgar: Variations on an Original Theme for orchestra ("Enigma")

Concert 7
Hector Berlioz: Roman Carnival Overture
Edward MacDowell: Piano Concerto 2
Intermission
César Franck: Symphony in d

COMMENTS
otaku's picture

Results?

John Marks's picture

Hi-

Thanks for your interest. The results are in process, and that process will take a couple or a few more weeks. I do not want to make any snap judgments, so I am researching the many many many unfamiliar pieces, and pondering how this concert versus that concert at that point in the season will pan out in terms of attendance and box office.

Beyond that, it will be a major task to format the winning entries to Stereophile's style sheet, and then I have to write the introductory copy. But the present work is hunting up at least YouTube performances of pieces that are new to me, to John Atkinson, and most of my music-loving friends.

I think that nearly all the entries are interesting, and the potential winners are impressive beyond anything I had hoped for.

So, please be patient.

JM

DepletedZPM's picture

 

Since I had fun putting together my entry, I wrote up the following note for Facebook friends.  I'd love to see some of the other entrants talk about their approaches to programming their seasons.

Romain Kang, Sunnyvale, California

My season is a geographical cycle beginning and ending in the US.  Each concert has some nation or region as its center of gravity, including at least one living composer and one "party piece" (in my opinion).  Whereas JM's example season employed piano concerti as "tent poles" in his structure, I have given concerti a more ornamental role, leaving just Michael Ching's single-movement piano concerto as representative, with less prominent instruments getting more solo turns.

Bracketing the season are probably the best-known tunes, by John Williams and Aaron Copland; Copland's final movement is built on the famous "Fanfare for the common man", in effect, ennunciating a return home.  I hope the visceral experience of the live orchestra allows the audience to hear these pieces anew.  I got a bit punchy with Concert 1, which has all living American composers named John, in reverse alphabetical order and descending age.

The other programs seem strong enough, though more time to listen, reflect, and revise would have helped.  In particular, the Asia-centered program (Concert 5) was a challenge because I know its composers least, but I felt I could not leave it out.  Choosing a concerto was the most time-consuming task. I would have liked to include Gang Situ's Double concerto for violin and erhu, but could not find a commercial recording.  My first draft put Chen Yi's Percussion concerto in the concerto spot, but timidity got the better of me, so instead there is a violin concerto from Unsuk Chin, a Korean living in Germany.  Also, Tan Dun quotes Beethoven's Third symphony liberally, and could be a disqualifier depending on interpretation of contest rules.

The discipline to leave out material was crucial; I took out an entire French program with some of my choral favorites.  There is both really good stuff and really fun trash in the symphonic world that would have been enjoyable to share.  In the best case, though, you leave the audience wanting more after the final chords have sounded.

Andrei's picture

@Romain

Congrats at result! I was interested in your Asia-centered program because I also wanted to include non-western music.  I had in mind a concert built around Tan Dun's 'Symphony 1997' or Ravi Shankar's Sitar Concerto.  Like you I felt I could not leave it out - but I did.  Unfortunately the combination of my limited knowledge of asian music and the necessity to make a coherent program meant I just had to give up.  Thanks for your post and I will be looking up those many pieces you mention that are new me.

DepletedZPM's picture

One friend passed the Stereophile lists around her classical music meetup group, and one keen reader noticed that I had a nonexistent piece in my Concert 5.  There is no "American" overture by Borodin -- it's by Prokofiev.  The error is surely a sloppy edit on my part, since I had Borodin's "Polovtsian dances" slotted there in an early draft.  I'm grateful that the editors cut me some slack there!

edbudzil's picture

When browsing the classical music composers catalogue, one will find the S category particularly large. Included in this section is one Stravinsky, Igor. This name is conspicously absent from the Fantasy Season contest. (I didn't enter the contest, so I'm not griping my entry didn't win.) Has Stravinsky's music gone out of fashion? Is his Rite of Spring, which caused the audience to riot during the 1913 premiere, still considered "too modern" 100 years later? I understand why audiophiles would not include the Romantic composers and earlier eras- that music lacks the instrumental color that the French Impressionists and Late Romantic composers brought to orchestral sound. But, c'mon, no Stravinsky? Nary a Firebird, or Rite of Spring to be found???

ptr's picture

from Mr Marks rules:

But to make it more interesting, you can't program works by any of these composers: Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Handel, Haydn, Mahler, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Schubert, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, or Wagner. Did you catch the "no Beethoven" part? Good.

Love Stravinsky, but like Mr Marks I belive that he is quite the staple on the concert stage!

Myself, I was quite surprized to be shareing second price!

Did not have a very decided way of structuring my season sugestion. I started out by choosing 7 underplayed works that I dearly would love to hear an orchstra play. Then adding a work that I think would contrast the main work really well, then I strongly belive that every concert should start with a musical Apéritif (i.e an overture) which I added.

Reading back my own season there emerged a red thread with a decent amount of "American" music, wich I feel is under played repertoir around the globe. The nest time the collour oif the fabric might be quite diffrent!

/ptr (in Sweden)

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